A Conception Story: Chapter 1, The Background

I've been composing this post for well over a year now. The top line news story is that yes, I am pregnant. This is definitely good news. Due date is August 6th, but my doctor has already decided to induce earlier that week to ensure he'll be my delivery doc.  But underneath this headline are so many substories that I don't even know where to begin. So forgive the post in multiple parts. And let me also say this: I know that so many of you out there struggle with infertility and have done so for much longer than I did or will (this is it for us!). Although I do have a better understanding now, I in no means will pretend to know what it's like to want a baby for years and years and get nothing. I am so grateful that our foray into infertility was as short as it was.

When Chuck and I decided it was time to start a family, we got pregnant almost immediately. At the time, we were so clueless as to how conception actually works that it's quite laughable now. I read just enough (online, so you know, totally reliable) to know that two weeks after a period, I should ovulate. At which point, Chuck and I knew to go crazy with the baby making. That's what we did. Two weeks after the baby making, we took a pregnancy test and it was negative. I was devastated. Absolutely devastated.

This inspired us to learn more and more about conception, during which we had a big AHA moment. My whole life I’ve been a girl with irregular periods (as in I could go months with no period). But little did I know that this meant I was an irregular ovulator. So for all Chuck and I knew at that point, it was quite possible that I hadn't even ovulated! We immediately ordered some ovulation predictor kits and started testing as soon as we got them, which was a Friday. Friday and Saturday were negative, but Sunday…was that positive? Monday…positive. Tuesday…positive. Wednesday…positive. (Why keep taking them? Well, because it's fun when they're positive and I bought a 100 so why not use them?) For those of you who know, they shouldn't be positive for more than one or two days. So I called my favorite OB/GYN, who happens to be a college roommate of mine, to ask her what was up. She said it was likely I was pregnant so I immediately took a test and yeppers! Little embryo Rhett was there. Nine months later, he was out.

I should mention that this is probably why Rhett was late. Because they base due dates on day of last period (because that’s what they know), I’m sure it was off. But shhh...don’t tell the doctors!

Chapter 2 tomorrow...